Major Writing Assignment (MWA) 3: The Analytical Report

Due Date: 12/3/16 at 11:59pm

Value: 100 points
For your third project, you will compose an analytical report. There are many subgenres within
the analytical report. For this assignment in particular, you will write a recommendation report.
These types of analytical reports study a problem, present possible solutions, and then
recommend what actions should be taken (Johnson-Sheehan 254).
This project sequence is centered on the notion of Universal Design. Universal Design works to
ensure that a document, environment, product, or technology can be used by the greatest amount
of people (old, young, able bodied, disabled, etc.). Your report will investigate a UNM resource,
local business, or city attraction and offer suggestions to help the group or organization work
towards Universal Design.
Task
The recommendation report is similar to the proposal, but has a larger focus on research and
discusses multiple solutions to the problem before offering a solution. Some key features of a
recommendation report include the introduction, methodology, results, discussion of the results,
and a conclusion that suggests the best solution or plan of action. Like the proposal from the
previous project, your recommendation report should include at least TWO graphics, graphs,
and/or tables of your creation that help illustrate the problem and solutions to your readers.
Remember, the audience and your rhetorical situation is up to you. Make sure that you are
writing to a specific audience and within a certain context (i.e. perhaps you are a consultant hired
to investigate the problem and are writing to the business owner).
Your report should be a minimum of 1,000 words (not including front and back matter). Since
the genre is NOT a proposal, you must remember to focus on analyzing the extent of the problem
and offer brief recommendations to solve it. You want to give your audience and thorough
understanding of the problem and how it relates to the community.
Heres some helpful tips to get you started on your project:

Visit a UNM resource, local business, or city attraction, and explore its accessibility. This
can range from documents the display, their website, or the physical environment.
Interact with the environment, grab example documents, and/or visit the website.

Offer a range of possible Universal Design solutions for ONE element in need of help.
Maybe the website is cluttered and difficult to navigate or the doors are too narrow to get
through with a wheelchair. If the organization has many problems with its documents or
environment, be sure to focus on just one to keep your recommendation report narrow.

Recommend what solution should take place. Is it the best? Cheapest? etc. Be sure that
you think through the problem and solutions thoroughly to offer your final solution.

This project is heavy on research, be sure to include properly cited material (from reputable

sources) in MLA format and a works cited page.

Multimodal Component

The first multimodal component of this project is the graphic elements integrated throughout the
report itself. These graphics serve to help your readers understand the problem and/or visualize
the solution.

Along with your graphic elements you are to create some form a presentation. Presentations are
commonly used with analytical reports because they help break down information in an easy to
understand manner. You should think about the presentation as an accompaniment to your report
(i.e. your boss has asked you to present on the issue and solutions, you are presenting in front of
the student body to raise awareness, etc.).

You should not simply copy and paste all the material from your report into the presentation. The
presentation is meant to showcase your research on the problem and the results/solutions that
followedthis includes your conclusion/final recommendation.

Here are some ways in which you can this presentation:

A Narrated Power Point (Prezi, Google Slides, or other) Presentation

o 3-5 minutes in length.
o This presentation should serve as an accompaniment to your report (i.e. your boss
has asked you to present on the issue and solutions, you are presenting in front of
the student body to raise awareness, etc.).
o Your presentation can narrated using Jing, Screencast-O-matic, or another
software that walks your audience through the problem and your findings.
A Narrated Poster Presentation using Power Point
o 3-5 minutes in length.
o This poster should serve as a shortened version of your report with all of the
major headings/findings included. Poster presentations are generally used at
conferences, but can also be used during meetings and other situations.
o Your presentation can narrated using Jing, Screencast-O-matic, or another
software that walks your audience through the problem and your findings.
If you have a different idea of what you would like to do for this part of assignment be
sure to email me for approval

Reflection
As with all projects this semester, you will be asked to write a reflection that will be submitted
with your major assignment. Your reflection should be in the form of a memo and be between

500-750 words and address the following questions:

Who was the intended audience for your report? In what context were you writing?

Describe your writing process for this document. How did it differ from previous
assignments?

What rhetorical choices did you make to tailor your report to a specific audience? Your
rhetorical choices include such things as content, design, voice, style, etc.

Who was your audience for the presentation? What changes did you make to adapt your
report into a presentation? Did you encounter any difficulties or face any limitations?

Grading

You will be graded according to the following rubric:

Element

Excellent

Rhetorical
13-15 points
Situation and The author has a
Audience (15) clear understanding
of their audience
and the situation
they are
writing/creating for.
This is perfectly
seen and understood
by the reader
through both the
composition and the
reflection submitted.

Report
Content (30)

27-30 points
The

Good

Needs
Improvement

Poor

10-12 points
The reader has a
fairly clear
understanding of
the given rhetorical
situation, but the
composition could
benefit from some
more clarifying
details.

5-9 points
The reader does not
have a clear
understanding of
the overall
rhetorical situation
or audience. The
composition needs
more
details/explanation
to better situate the
reader.

0-4 points
The composition
does not address a
specific audience or
rhetorical situation.

10-19 points

0-9 points
The assignment is

20-26 points

recommendation
report meets all
genre expectations
for an analytical
report. The
document is
thorough, well
cited/researched,
and thoughtfully
addresses Universal
Design. The
document itself is
very easy to
navigate and is
accessible.

The report meets

most, but not all
genre expectations.
The document
could have
benefitted from
more detail and
better organization.

The report lacks

clarity and content.
The targeted
audience would
benefit from more
detail and
explanation.

not a report and the

composition lacks
clarity and
originality. Would
benefit from a
serious rewrite

Ethos (5)

5 points
The author's ethos is
strongly supported
by the composition.
The author comes
across as credible
and trustworthy to
readers.

4 points
The author comes
off as a credible
source, but there
are a few
inconsistencies
that prevent them
from being entirely
reliable

3 points
The overall
composition more
or less supports the
authors ethos, but
overall there are
many areas that
need further
development

0-2 points
This submission
lacks credibility. The
composition would
need a substantial
revision meet ethos
requirements.

Organization,
Style, and
Clarity (10)

9-10 points
Clear, well
organized material.
The composition is
free from distracting
grammatical errors
and all word choice
is appropriate for
the situation.
Document follows
the necessary
format/s of the
genre

8points
Somewhat clear,
well organized
material. The
composition is
mostly free from
distracting
grammatical errors
and word choice is
somewhat
appropriate for the
situation.

4-7 points
Unclear at parts and
could benefit from
more organization.
There were many
grammatical errors
and the piece could
have benefitted
from better word
choice. The
composition would
have benefitted
from a thorough
proofread.

0-3 points
Unclear and
unorganized. Reader
is lost. The
composition would
greatly benefit from
a thorough revision.

Multimodal
Component
(20)

18-20points

12-17 points

8-11 points

0-7 points

A multimodal
presentation is
included alongside
the report. This
element helps
guide/inform
readers and fits the

A multimodal
component is
included, but
needs a little
more work to fit
audience needs
and

A multimodal
component is
included, but does
not fit the needs of
the audience.
Reader is left
somewhat

Little to no
component is
included along
with the proposal.

Reflection
(20)

expectations of its expectations.

specific medium.
The component is
visually appealing
and works
effectively
alongside the
report.

confused.

18-20 points
The author has
genuinely

5-9 points
A reflection is
included, but lacks
sufficient detail to
help the reader
understand their
choices and
research process for
this project. The
reader is left with
many questions and
an unclear
understanding of
the choices made.

reflected on his or
her choices
and has explained
how those
choices were
influenced by their
audience and
rhetorical situation.
The author also goes
into extreme detail
describing their
research process.

Total (100)

12-17 points
The author has
included a
reflection that
discusses the
choices made and
how they relate to
audience. The
reflection would
benefit from more
detail.

0-7 points
Little to no reflection
is attached with this
composition. The
reader has no idea of
who the
audience/rhetorical
situation is and what
the author's research
process was.